A small practice, run by the person who advises you
GradPathway is led by Irshad Arshad and works entirely online, with students in several countries and universities across the US, UK, Canada, Australia and Europe. You deal with the counsellor who reviews your file, not a sales desk that hands you on.
Why I started GradPathway
I have been an international student twice. I left Lahore for a master's at South Asian University in New Delhi, then moved again for research work in the United States. Both times I learned the process the expensive way, by getting things wrong first.
My background is in the laboratory rather than the sales office. I trained in molecular medicine, worked on CRISPR-based diagnostics for my master's research, and have since held research positions at the University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center and the University of Louisville. I now work as an environmental scientist with the New Mexico Environment Department.
Alongside that I have spent years supporting students directly. At New Mexico Highlands University I led supplemental instruction sessions in cell and molecular biology, then mentored the tutors and instruction leaders who ran them. That is where I learned that most students do not need more information. They need someone to sit with them and work out what it means for their situation.
GradPathway is deliberately small, and I take a limited number of students each cycle so every shortlist is argued through properly. If a course is wrong for you, I will say so, even when it costs me the enrolment. Working online is what lets me advise a student in Lahore in my evening and another in New Mexico the same morning.
How working with us actually works
Everything runs online, on purpose. It means you get the counsellor you chose rather than the one nearest your city, and every conversation and document is in one place you can go back to.
Video consultations
Every meeting runs on Zoom or Google Meet and is booked to a fixed slot. Recordings and notes go to you afterwards, so nothing depends on memory.
Time-zone coverage
We schedule around your day, not ours, including evenings and weekends. Students in Pakistan, the Gulf and North America all work with us on their own clock.
Secure document sharing
Transcripts, financial evidence and drafts live in one access-controlled folder per student. Nothing sensitive travels over chat apps or personal email.
Response times
Messages answered within one working day, and same day in the two weeks around a deadline. You always know when to expect a reply.
How we're paid
Students pay us directly, on a fixed fee agreed before any work begins, and we tell you what that fee is at the first consultation rather than after you are invested. We do not accept commission from universities for placing students, because a recommendation you are paying for should not also be paid for by the institution receiving you. Where we hold a formal partnership with an institution, we say so on the page where it is relevant, and it never decides what goes on your shortlist.
Who you'll be working with
{{ t.quote }}
What students say elsewhere
{{ r.quote }}
Talk to the person who'll handle your file
Book a free 30-minute video consultation. Bring your transcripts and your questions, and you will leave with a clear next step and a fee quoted up front.